Photos: An Indianapolis Aqueduct

You may not be aware that Indianapolis has an aqueduct as it's near, well, nothing. It was originally built in 1836-37 as part of the Central Canal to move the canal over Fall Creek. The current aqueduct was built in 1904-05, a replacement for one washed away in a flood of Fall Creek on March 27, 1904.

To get to it, you drive north off 16th St. onto the appropriately named Aqueduct St. After driving about a half mile, it dead ends very near a junk yard. Then you have to hop out of your car and (presumably trespassing) walk about a 10th of a mile back on a gravely path. At the end of your walk, you're presented with this:

Looking West:

Looking West and slightly down at Fall Creek:

Looking East:

Aqueducts always get me. The juxtaposition of "tamed" and "wild" bodies of water always looks and feels very odd to me.

Note: these pictures were taken June, 2006.

UPDATE (2/4): Finally took a look at the birds-eye shots that thundermutt mentioned in the comments. Here's a shot of the aqueduct from the South:

Photos: Meridian Arch Update

Meridian Arch Facts:

• Address: 802 N. Meridian St. (NW corner with St. Clair St.)
  
• Originally Constructed: 1906 as the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church
• Architect, Historic Church: D.A. Bohlen & Sons
• Architect, Rear Addition: Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects
• Previous Use: Indiana Business College (from 1947 to 2003, when they relocated to E. Washington St.)
• Developer: Hearthview Residential
• Number of Residences: 27 Condominiums (a potential second phase may include 48 more condos in a building to the west)
  
• Expected Completion: 2008

Here's the status of this project as of November 1st:

































































































































































Looking South on Meridian (is this God's approval of the reuse of his house?!):

















Here's a rendering provided by Hearthview:
















And finally, here's a 1925 photo from the Indiana Historical Society's collection that shows the long-gone and not-to-be-reconstructed 145 ft. spires:


















One last note: I had to laugh when I read in the most recent Up Downtown that Hearthview was proud of their preservation plan for this building. Quite to the contrary, their original plan called for knocking down the entire structure and building anew. Once preservationists heard this, IHPC expedited it to Historic Individual Property status. To Hearthview's credit, reports indicate that they quickly and without much fight agreed to preserve the historical front portion of the building (the rear portion was apparently an addition put on by the Indiana Business College). But presenting the preservation as if it was their plan all along is playing with the facts.

Photos: Broadbent Building Update

Broadbent Building Facts:

• Location: Corner of Virginia Ave. and Washington St.
• Originally built: 1961 as a Merchant National Bank branch
• Until recently known as: The Zipper Building
• Ground Floor Tenant: Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian Steakhouse chain (planned)
• 2nd and 3rd Floor Tenant/Owner: The Broadbent Co.

Here is the project status as of Sunday, October 21st:

Overview:













The corner of Washington and Virginia:













Looking Northwest on Virginia (the last diagonal street that provides a peak at the monument -- this view is really very cool and tough to capture with a camera):






















You can see the last remnants of the Zipper Building facade on the lower backside of the building:













Here are a couple renderings of the final product:

And for the history buffs, here's the building that stood on the Broadbent Building site from 1876 until it was demolished in 1959, the Vance Building:


























It was renamed the Indiana Trust Building when two stories were added in 1894-95 :

Beer: Casper Maus Brewery

Back in August, IUPUI put up signs identifying the locations of important structures that had been lost to history with the rapid expansion of the IUPUI campus. They're a nice addition, kind of a poor-man's historical marker and apparently very cheap -- the marker glued to a post for the recently razed IPS School No. 4 at Michigan and Blackford is already gone, perhaps a victim of the strong winds the other day (Correction: either my eyes were playing tricks on me or they very quickly fixed this sign, because it's back now). While I was taking pictures for yesterday's Campus Center post, I noticed this sign on the NW corner of University and New York:























Apparently the parking lot I was standing in to capture the South/Vermont St. Facade of the Campus Center was the location of a brewery! Here's a tidbit and small photo from IUPUI's "Spirit, Pride and Tradition" page:

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ...

Maybe folk singer Joni Mitchell's song Big Yellow Taxi put it best: Only at IUPUI would college students have to choose between a fully functioning brewery and a parking lot. The current lot on the corner of New York Street and University Boulevard, west of Lecture Hall, once was the home of Casper Maus brewery. Well, it makes that "no-alcohol" policy a little easier to enforce."










More info about the Casper Maus Brewery and other Indianapolis breweries can be found in the Indy brewing history page at Indiana Beer.

Other quick beer news:

• Hoosier Beer Geek reports that Brugge Beer will finally be available Nov. 1st. Can't wait to find out which bars/restaurants will have it on tap!
• Coincidence or friendly rivalry? Jim of Hoosier Beer Geek noted that Chatham Tap's Bell's Oberon keg has finally kicked and has been replaced by Bell's Best Brown Ale. Likewise, MacNiven's keg of Third Coast Old Ale has also been finished and has been replaced by Bell's Best Brown Ale. If you love brown ale, apparently you can't go wrong on Mass Ave these days.
• WTHR (NBC) reported on their noon news that Buggs Temple officially opened for business for lunch today.